Box Score
The Lehman College men's volleyball team (15-10 Overall, 9-5 CUNYAC) advanced to the semifinal round of the 2010 CUNYAC Men's Volleyball Tournament on Tuesday evening as the Lightning defeated the Yellow Jackets of New York City College of Technology (9-15 Overall, 5-9 CUNYAC) by scores of 30-21, 30-24, and 30-21 in front of a jacked APEX Center crowd in the Bronx. With the victory, Lehman College – seeded No. 3 in the tournament – will take on No. 2 seeded Hunter College on Friday evening at the Hunter Sportsplex at 6:00pm.
In the victory for the Lightning, junior outside hitter Nate Martin was hitting on all cylinders and pacing his team as he recorded a team-high 20 kills while hitting a whopping .472 on the night and committing just three hitting errors. He also tallied four service aces and four digs as well. RJ LeBlanc was tremendous in the victory as well as he added 11 kills, six digs and a pair of assists. Angel Fernandez tallied a match-high 35 assists, and libero Rafael Abreu contributed 11 digs. Following the victory, Lehman College head coach Wolfgang Lucena gave his thoughts.
“We came out tonight with an energy and a hunger, and I'm extremely proud of this group,” Lucena said. “Tonight was a perfect example of how badly our team wants to be successful, and I feel as though the sky could be the limit for us. The players believe in themselves and each other, and we're all looking forward to Friday night.”
The Lightning hit .270 on the evening and recorded 45 kills while committing just 11 hitting errors, while NY City Tech tallied 36 kills and hit .189 while making 19 errors. Lehman College had six service aces compared to just one for the Yellow Jackets, and Lightning edged City Tech in assists as well, 38-33.
Despite the loss for New York City Tech, it was Johnny Santana putting together an eye-opening performance for his unit, tallying a match-high 21 kills to go along with a team-high 11 digs. He hit .273 on the night. In addition, Duong Thai added a team-high 22 assists to go along with 11 digs and three kills, and Paul Rhodes contributed seven digs, three assists, and three kills.
Lehman College will return to action on Friday evening as the team will look to take home its first CUNYAC championship since 2002 when the squad battles the Hunter College Hawks at the Hunter Sportsplex, with match-time scheduled for 6:00pm. Should the Lightning claim victory in that one, they will advance to the championship game which is scheduled to take place at 8:00pm, and battle either the No. 1 seeded Bearcats of Baruch College or the No. 4 seeded Cardinals of York College. Keep it posted to www.lehmanathletics.com and/or www.CUNYAthletics.com for all the latest information on the tournament.
